Psychology

The Division of Psychology was officially recognized in 1970 by pioneering clinical psychologist, George Kassimer Yacorzynski, one of the first clinical psychologists to be appointed to the faculty of a major medical school in 1938. In 1955, Dr. Yacorzynski played a key role in creating our pre-doctoral clinical internship, one of the first in the nation to be accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). In 1972, the Division of Psychology obtained APA accreditation for our PhD program in Clinical Psychology. Today, the Division of Psychology has grown to include 52 faculty members, an additional 133 contributed service, emeritus and adjunct psychology faculty members, as well as six pre-doctoral clinical interns, three postdoctoral fellows, and 39 PhD students. Faculty, postdocs, interns, and students are located throughout Northwestern University and the medical school, as well as Feinberg’s affiliated hospitals and care sites: Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH), Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago (Lurie Children’s), and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. The Division of Psychology is an integral part of the education, research, and clinical missions of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University.

Education

The Division of Psychology has a rich history, a distinguished faculty, and a tradition of excellence in clinical and research education and training. The Division of Psychology provides an array of educational and training opportunities in Clinical Psychology, including a PhD program in Clinical Psychology, a pre-doctoral clinical internship program in Clinical Psychology, and a postdoctoral program in Clinical Psychology.

The PhD program in Clinical Psychology is a scientist-practitioner program that is distinguished in two ways from other programs.

It offers excellent and collaborative training in the science of psychology. Because of our unusual placement in an academic medical center, we provide our students with opportunities for translational research and practice that span molecular to social models of disease, and epidemiologic to clinical and neuroimaging methodologies.

We insist that our students aspire to a level of clinical sophistication unmatched by most training programs. An unusually dedicated team of faculty members offer supervision in a variety of psychiatric and medical settings and emphasize the development of expertise in the most contemporary evidence-based approaches to assessment and treatment.

Our internship and postdoctoral fellowship programs in clinical psychology, which are sponsored jointly by Northwestern University and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, provide training in evidence-based practice and research in a multidisciplinary, collaborative environment. Our new, first-in-the nation LGBT internship track provides trainees with intensive psychological training in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health. These programs are designed to prepare trainees for careers as professional psychologists in academic medical centers. Like our doctoral program, the internship and postdoctoral fellowship program develops critically-minded psychologists who are, at the same time, exceptional clinicians and creative clinical scholars.

Research

The Division of Psychology is focused on being at the forefront of research. Research conducted by members of the Division of Psychology – from basic and translational science to clinical outcomes research and social policy – has garnered national attention. Faculty members in the division are involved in a range of investigation, including: